SLOW RETURN FOR PREMIUM TRAVEL
THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS travelling Premium Class in February rose by 5.9 per cent year-on-year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It reported an overall increase in international passengers, including a 6.9 per cent rise in Economy Class. IATA said the figures indicated a "strong upturn", but said long-haul markets were recovering more quickly than short-haul. Premium travel was estimated to be 10 per cent up from the lows of mid-2009 but had still not recovered to the early 2008 levels. On North Atlantic routes, Premium travel was up 4.2 per cent year-on-year. Europe to the Middle East was up 11.6 per cent while Europe to the Far East was up 3.6 per cent. However, Premium traffic within Europe dropped by 3.7 per cent.
TMCS JOIN GTMC
FOUR TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES (TMCs) have joined the GTMC since it started a recruitment drive at the Business Travel & Meetings Show in February. Representatives from Giles Travel, Wings Corporate Travel, TD Travel Group and Scholefield Turnbull & Partners will attend the organisation's annual conference in Hong Kong this month.
Chief executive Anne Godfrey said: "As part of our commitment to change, the GTMC recently announced a more open and transparent membership model. This, coupled with some successful high profile lobbying on behalf of our members, has heightened interest from prospective members."
David Giles, chairman of new member Giles Travel, said: "Under Anne Godfrey's leadership, we recognise many of our values in what we see as a revitalised GTMC. We consider membership a vital element to our growth strategy. Anne's objectives and ethos in achieving reflect our own ideals." Giles added that his company had ambitious growth targets, aiming to make business double in turnover in the next five years. The GTMC scrapped its £7,000 joining fee in January in preparation for the recruitment drive. Under Godfrey, the organisation is seeking to become more inclusive.
BOOKER LOYALTY
CORPORATE TRAVELLER has claimed to have developed the first ever loyalty programme for travel bookers in the UK business travel sector. The company says CT Loyalty is an interactive, web-based programme that rewards personal assistants and secretaries. Points are earned for each booking made with the TMC. When the booker has accrued sufficient points, he or she can select from a number of gifts, including electronic goods and holidays.
Flybe has signed a full interline agreement with Dubai-based Emirates. The deal means passengers travelling with the low-cost carrier to connect to an Emirates flight out of Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester or Heathrow can check through baggage to their final destination on departure from their regional airport. Flybe already has similar partnerships with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Etihad.
From September 1 Emirates will serve Manchester Airport with an Airbus A380. The B777 currently used for flights EK017 and EK018 will be replaced by the superjumbo, arriving into Manchester daily at 11.45 before departing at 13.30. The super size airliner will boost capacity on the route by 75 seats a day.
Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) has switched operations from Heathrow's Terminal 3 to Terminal 4. RBA's check-in desks are now located in T4's zone D. Business Class passengers and Gold Card members of RBA's Royal Skies frequent flyer scheme can use the Etihad lounge, located near Gate 1.
Virgin Atlantic is to challenge British Airways on the London-Ghana route from May 24. The service will be thrice weekly, although it has still to get government approval. The service is already popular with business travellers working in the country's oil and gas industries. British Airways flies daily from Heathrow to Accra while Ghana Airways also flies four times a week from Gatwick. "We think there is definitely room for three carriers," said a Virgin spokeswoman.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will add a new service from Liverpool John Lennon airport to Amsterdam Schiphol from May 10. The early afternoon departure will leaves at 14.00, arriving into Amsterdam at 16.15. The other flights (currently 06.00, 11.35 and 16.45) will change to 06.05, 10.25 and 17.20, arriving at 08.25, 12.40 and 19.35 respectively. The return flights will also change (from 10.10, 13.45 and 20.35), to the following schedule: 09.25, arriving into Liverpool at 09.45; 13.00, arriving at 13.20; 16.20, arriving at 16.40; and 20.45, arriving at 21.05.
UK GROUP BUYS TWO NY HOTELS
STARWOOD HOTELS has sold two of its W brand properties in New York to a UK hotel group. The two properties are the 198-room W New York - The Court and the 122-room W New York - The Tuscany, both on 39th Street near Lexington Avenue. The buyer is St Giles Hotels which runs one property in central London and one near Heathrow Airport. The two New York hotels will no longer carry either the W or any other Starwood branding. Opened in 1999,they were among the first of Starwood's new boutique brand. After the sale, Starwood still has four other W-branded hotels in the Big Apple at W New York, Times Square, Union Square and Hoboken. A fifth, 217-room hotel, is due to open in the city centre this summer.
RECOVERY REPORTED
THERE WAS A DOUBLE-DIGIT rise in demand for business travel in the first quarter of 2010, according to Advito, BCD Travel's independent consulting arm. Advito said the increase indicated a two-speed recovery that was rigorous in advanced markets and sluggish in emerging ones. Its 2010 Industry Forecast report highlighted four key developments: stronger than expected growth in air fares in the Asia-Pacific region; an expected drop in Business Class travel within Europe; a further drop in average daily rates in key hotels markets; and the increasing impact of fees for car rental no-shows. On the drop in use of Premium fares in Europe, Advito said it did not expect this market to recover. On hotels, it said they expected average daily rate in hotels to fall in Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Spain, the UK and the US.
HBA WINS TV CONTRACT
HOTEL BOOKING AGENCY Inntel has won a contract to travel manage the television broadcaster Channel 4. The company will be responsible for providing accommodation and international travel services through a mixture of online and offline booking tools. It has also been tasked with improving the compliance of C4's travellers to their travel programme.
AIRPORT HOTEL RELAUNCH
THE STANWELL HALL HOTEL, which originally opened in 1951 as Heathrow's first airport hotel, has been relaunched after a multimillion-pound refurbishment as a four-star boutique property. Set in an acre of grounds two miles from T5 and three from T4, the 54-room Stanwell - the name has been shortened - is the first venture by the new Inn-genious Hotel Group. The hotel has its own restaurant, and a meeting room for up to 60 delegates.
AUGUST OPENING
AN AUGUST OPENING DATE has been set for Macdonald Hotels & Resorts' new Windsor property on the site of - and incorporating parts of - a former John Lewis department store. The Macdonald Windsor Hotel will have 120 rooms and "extensive meetings and events space". Its Castle Suite will hold up to 120 delegates, 70 will fit into the St Georges Suite, and there are four smaller meeting rooms
PREMIER PRODUCTS
PREMIER INN HAS LAUNCHED a new corporate direct booking tool, Business Reservations Manager, allowing business travellers to pay for accommodation, meals and car parking with their Premier Inn Business Account Card. For corporates, the Whitbread plcowned budget hotel group promises lower costs, tighter policy adherence and better management information.
MANX2.COM has increased its flight frequencies between Belfast International and the Isle of Man. The daily Belfast-Ronaldsway rotation has been complemented with a second daily service on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays, and an extra Saturday service will be launched this summer.
The Rezidor Hotel Group is to open a 175-room Radisson Blu in Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar in late 2011. The property will have three restaurants, a microbrewery and almost 5,000sq ft of function space.
Marriott International has opened the 501-room Shanghai Marriott Hotel Changfeng Park. Less than an hour from Pudong International Airport, the property features seven restaurants and bars, an executive lounge and 14 function rooms.
Nigerian capital Abuja now boasts a 108-suite Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham property. Close to the city's International Conference Centre, the extended-stay property includes a restaurant, fitness centre and business centre.
London's five-star Royal Garden Hotel, currently undergoing a multimillion-pound refurbishment, has joined the Worldhotels sales, marketing and representation consortium.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation is to manage a new 220-room hotel in Rostov, close to Russia's Black Sea coast. The Hyatt Regency Rostov - Don Plaza opens in 2011.